INTRODUCTION TO WESTERN ART: A CONCISE GUIDE
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St.-Sernin, begun 1080, plan Interior Exterior The pilgrimage churches were built using a square module that is repeated throughout the plan. Inside the church, the units are defined by the compound piers. These massive supports mark the separate bays, and the attached columns, or pilasters, continue upward to cross the stone vault. The rounded arch is seen throughout the church: in the large arches along the nave, in the smaller arches framing the windows, and on the vault. Romanesque builders wanted to create tall churches, but because the stone barrel vault needs a great deal of side supports, they thickened the exterior walls with attached buttresses. The galleries above the aisles also help distribute the weight outward and downward, because the gallery vaults support the main vault. The use of the gallery, however, also puts the windows farther away from the nave, creating a darker interior. On the exterior, these churches usually have towers or spires at the west end and one over the crossing. The Romanesque style of architecture is not confined to France, and there are many local styles and variations; they share the rounded arch, a relatively dark interior, and thick buttressing. Throughout the Romanesque period, there was much experimentation, often with the aim of building taller and bigger structures. PORTAL SCULPTURE The main doorway, or portal, of a Romanesque church is often richly decorated with relief sculpture. There are usually double doors in these churches, and the central post between them—the trumeau—may also be carved with animals or figures, as is the case at Saint-Pierre in Moissac. The rounded area, or tympanum, just above the doors, most often contains an image of Christ as he will appear at the end of time. The theme of the Last Judgment is especially popular in portal sculpture. The subject shows Christ judging all men and women who have been raised from the dead just before the end of the world. The good people go to Heaven, shown on Christ’s right side (the viewer’s left side); the wicked go to Hell on the other side.